SSX

SSX is back and it brings back all of the classic nostalgia of being an extreme snowboarder. The term, "Defy Reality," is what simply describes this intense snowboarding game. It has been such a long time since a new and worthy SSX title has been released. This reboot of the title is very worthy of the name. You have single player story mode called "World Tour," which helps you get a feel of what SSX is really about. And then you have the competitive but still technically single player mode, "Explore," which allows you to race, and set record times down online for your friends to try and beat. You can also set trick score records down along with survival records in Deadly Descents which your friends are also able to try and beat. And finally, the online game mode, also known as, "Global Events." Global Events allows you to go online and compete against thousands upon thousands of people. You set scores down and fall into a certain bracket average with other people. You and the other people within that bracket will gain credits by the end of the event. Credits are used to purchase new suits, boards, survival equipment and more. The online is fun, but you aren't able to face your friends or others in real time. You face their ghosts that aren't really live people playing. That is kind of a bummer, but the game is still an amazing reboot of the SSX franchise and I can't wait to play the next one!

You can get so much fun from this game. Tricks are amazing (sometimes way too much unrealistic), music is awesome and system of buying new and better boards is great.

While its hard to take this game on merit alone for us who played the likes of sex tricky and SSX 3, Il try to keep it objective. Firstly there is no 2 player splitscreen mode! Major points lost there. All the riders are pretty easy to unlock within your first hour of play, unlocks have proven over time to be a great incentive to keep on playing. The only incentive I had to keep playing was for the achievements, many of which require months of playing time to achieve. There are way too many tracks! So learning the routes and honing your skills and times isn't an option. But other than that its a good game. Game play is slightly different to older ssx titles but once U get used to it its good. And the gear and equipment are welcome additions but overall they missed the mark, with way to many changes needed to make this game great. 7,5/10

If I was someone who'd never played the previous titles I can see how the adrenaline rush could whisk one away for a week or so - doesn't take more than 1-2 evenings to best the campaign - and there's enough relative competition in the multiplayer to keep you coming back to best people's times... but overall; as someone who was borne and raised on the PS2 with the original title and it's 2 major sequels (Blur slipped me by and On Tour felt like a cheap indie-pop revival spin-off... I personally consider it a bit of a non-canon 'emo' phase for an otherwise hip-hop funk-fest of a series) I have to say SSX (2012) was disappointing to say the least. I can't deny having the same sinking feeling when presented with what many were calling a 'Call of Duty'-esque sneak-peak trailer - a real juxtapose to one of the original SSX trailers which is essentially various in-game sequences of the funkadelic cast smacking each other, busting ridiculous flips and smashing through glass to the soundtrack of some bad-boy jungle for the best part of 30 seconds - and likewise when it finally came to crunch time: there it was - all the spiralling, speed and slope shooting but none of the outrageous characters and charm that made the original series more than just high-octane racing with ridiculous tricks: it was high octane racing with ridiculous tricks set in a universe just as outrageous. I had no qualms whatsoever with the revived classic characters, in fact I loved how they had aged, as they always did, naturally, from series to series, relative to the years between titles. But where once upon a time you could kit out your riders with different board types and apparel, full 3D renders, catchphrases, animations and all, now it's all conceptual art with an infinity style variation of everything - the most you can do to change your characters wears is the rendered skin colour... dude you used to be able to give Moby some mad dreads, get Mac riding on a Dollar Bill, Put cowboy stuff on Nate and what prepubescent teenager wasn't dressing Elise in the skimpiest shorts and bunny ears? It was that kind of character personalisation and immersion that took the game to a next level - that and the classic: split-freakin'-screen! Live racing dude! Besting someone's time is one thing but whaaaat!? You can't even race online players live in the 2012 revamp? Seriously? I wasn't expecting much from the ever-increasingly monopolised EA, especially considering the founding father BIG studio was no more. But really? SSX used to have a cool, underground sonic aesthetic - now the soundtrack consists of DJ Fresh and Skrillex... where's the subterranean beats EA? That 'cool' vibe? You used to have Mix Master mike on deck dudes... then you pulled in the genuinely likeable DJ Atomica - now we have to put up with an inaudible dude in a heli who sure ain't no disc jockey. You lost your steeze and invested purely in sell-value, and you flopped because of it. Sure you pulled some pennies on this project but you missed the boat that made this series rock - you didn't take any risks whatsoever. You amped up the action value because hey, everyone wants blockbuster action in their video games in the 21st century, right? Wrong - indie's on the rise because as much as we love our Uncharted and our GTAs, we like zany madness too guys! We like abstract and silly. And there are generations of millenials stuck in the backend of a disgusting recession who's housing options are increasingly sharing flats/houses: that's thousands of one of the biggest gaming markets sat in shared living rooms making do with Fifa and Mortal Kombat for shared screen multilayer experiences - swapping controllers to take turns doing laps on Dirt... SSX without Splitscreen or the ability to race real human beans, live, is just... flat man. Flat as it comes. And no punching? No social connections? No Zoe is friends with Moby and Moby hates Elise and Kaori hates Psymon and blah blah blah? Whaaaat!? No big bios. No custom trick-set ups? No tracks based anywhere bar back-country and off piste? What no crowd stands and fireworks and loop the loops and "DO NOT ENTER" glass signs to break through and take the lead? No standing ovation on the podiums? No TOKYO MEGAPLEX REVAMP!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? All the steez - all the swagger - all the funk: dropped in place of wing suits, ice picks and oxygen tanks... Hey the danger element is cool. Bring it on. Bring it in. I love it. I love the gear, especially that wing-suit. But don't give us those cool bonuses and then tear away the heart and freaking soul of this game? It's the same body, the speed, the tricks, the fluidity, but none of the heart. None of the personality. No flare. Oh and grinding is now a glue-stuck to the rail affair - no skill required - you used to have to be a bossman to boss rails... now all you have to do is hop on and ride - too easy to become a master by finding the best path on this game. 2012 flopped - do better!

I've been a fan and Tricky Gamer since the beginning. I bought the game assuming online play would be a no brainer.....WRONG! The graphics are gorgeous and gameplay of single player is a lot of fun. Opened all the mountains around the ****.... but ... wait for it..... ONLINE PASSCODE no longer works. No access to the online play and all the things I've opened(characters, mountains, etc.) GONE! It's been 3 weeks trying to work out the details with EA support in India - NO GO! Looking forward to Comicon where I can go tell these EA guys off. Awful customer service and the new Online Passcode jargon is a joke! Do not recommend any EA game because of this.